Rockfish Confiscated At Nn Shop

Species Protected Under Moratorium

NEWPORT NEWS — More than 800 pounds of rockfish, a species protected because of its diminishing numbers, were confiscated from DeMaria's Seafood on Warwick Boulevard Tuesday.

Patrol officers from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, with help from the Newport News Police Department, found 15 boxes, each weighing an estimated 50 pounds, of the fish, also known as striped bass, in the store's freezer. Six individual fish totaling almost 80 pounds also were found.

Rockfish were one of the most popular commercial catches in North America through the mid-1970s, when overfishing and pollution reduced their population.

In May the VMRC ordered that the harvesting of rockfish be stopped for at least one year. While the moratorium is in effect, it is illegal to buy, sell, possess or process rockfish outside of an authorized aquaculture facility.

Rockfish more than 24 inches long could be captured previously, but only from June 1 to Nov. 30.

"There were a lot of illegal-sized fish there" at DeMaria's, said S.H. Pope, marine patrol officer.

Pope said the department was tipped off about the rockfish after the arrest of a waterman in Gloucester. The waterman, who was using the meat as crab bait, informed the officers that he was given about 50 pounds of the fish from the store, Pope said.

The waterman is the only person to be charged at this time with possession of rockfish, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

An arrest warrant has been issued for the store's owner, John DeMaria. DeMaria could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

DeMaria's Seafood, a retail and wholesale seafood market located near Deep Creek Road, has been in business about 10 years. Robert Markland, Virginia Marine Patrol chief enforcement officer, said he knew of no previous offenses involving DeMaria Seafood.

A VMRC inspector seized 14 undersized rockfish offered for sale at DeMaria's in 1985. Then-District Judge Robert W. Curran dismissed the criminal charge that followed after the owner of the business claimed he was not aware of the recently imposed size limit.

Pope said most of the fish seized Tuesday were freezer burned. "They appeared to have been frozen for quite some time," he said.